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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
June 6, 2006

Contents of this issue:

  • Metro Detroit charter school growing, moving

  • District, federal college enrollment stats differ

  • DPS students leave rather than relocate

  • Michigan science scores on NAEP above national average

  • Brighton teachers pay more for expensive MESSA

METRO DETROIT CHARTER SCHOOL GROWING, MOVING
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. — Great Oaks Academy has to find a new home in anticipation of doubling its enrollment, according to The Macomb Daily.

The public charter school, with 300 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, expects to add another 300 students and expand to eighth grade by 2008, The Daily reported. The school purchased the former St. Mark's Catholic School in Warren and will open there in the fall. Great Oaks is chartered by Bay Mills Community College and run by National Heritage Academies of Grand Rapids.

The school has been occupying the former St. Vincent Ferrer school in Madison Heights for two years, according to The Daily. The move to a bigger facility will allow the public school to offer special education services, separate art and music rooms, a larger library and a gym, The Daily reported.

About 35 percent of the students live in Madison Heights, according to The Daily, while others live as many as 40 miles away. The new location is about five miles east, in Warren, from the previous location, and will mean a longer drive for some families.

"Sometimes we have to sacrifice some things to get a better education," Harrison Township resident Lisa Ip, whose son Victor attends the school, told The Daily.

SOURCE:
The Macomb Daily, "Charter school to move from Madison Heights to Warren," May 18, 2006
http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/051806/loc_greatoaks001.shtml

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "State charter schools see enrollment increases," March 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7621

Michigan Education Digest, "MEA loses lawsuit against public schools," March 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7620

DISTRICT, FEDERAL COLLEGE ENROLLMENT STATS DIFFER
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The number of graduating seniors who go on to college may be much lower than the number high schools claim, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette.

The Gazette cites the National Center for Education Statistics, which reports that about two-thirds of high school graduates enroll in college, while many high schools boast that 80 percent or more of their graduates seek post-secondary degrees.

High schools in Kalamazoo, Comstock, Portage and Paw Paw, for example, say 80 to 90 percent of the class of 2006 plan on attending college, according to the Gazette. The difference can be caused by several things, including financial difficulties or other life changes, students saying they plan to enroll in community college who do not, and others who are accepted at four-year schools but do not go, the Gazette reported.

Tim Bartik, president of the Kalamazoo board of education and an economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, said the differences between the NCES numbers and the schools' figures is cause for concern.

"We're doing a lot to hold schools accountable to (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) results, but this is even more directly related to outcomes than the MEAP," Bartik told the Gazette.

Bartik added that vocational-education programs are required by law to follow up on graduates a year after graduation.

"If voc-tech can figure out a way to do it, you would think other people could," he told the Gazette.

SOURCE:
Kalamazoo Gazette, "College-bound student numbers often inflated by school surveys," May 21, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-17/114820680886060.xml?kzgazette?NEKP&coll=7

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Parent Trap," July 1, 2005
http://www.mackinac.org/7153

Michigan Education Report, "K-Promise: A whole new environment for Kalamazoo," March 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7624

DPS STUDENTS LEAVE RATHER THAN RELOCATE
DETROIT — When Detroit Public Schools closed 29 schools last year, about 1,500 students left the district, rather than accept being assigned to a different building, according to The Detroit News.

Overall, 11,600 students left DPS between the fall of 2004 and the fall of 2005, The News reported. The district plans to close another seven schools this fall.

Almost half the students from Yost Academy, one of the schools DPS closed last year, left the district, according to The News. Yost was 40 years old and students there met federal testing standards, The News reported.

"I'm glad I made the move," parent Delores Thomas, whose daughter now attends a charter school in Southfield, told The News. "Detroit has done its job in the past, but there's no stability."

SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Closures drive away 1,500 pupils," May 26, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060526/SCHOOLS/605260358

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit Public Schools enrollment drops again," Nov. 29, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7448

Michigan Education Digest, "Independent school growing in Metro Detroit," April 4, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7661

MICHIGAN SCIENCE SCORES ON NAEP ABOVE NATIONAL AVERAGE
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's fourth and eighth graders scored better than the national averages of their counterparts across the country on the science portion of the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress, according to Booth Newspapers.

On a scale of zero to 300, Michigan fourth graders averaged 152, compared to the national average of 149. Michigan eighth graders scored 155, also above the national average of 147, Booth reported. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 32 percent of fourth graders and 35 percent of eighth graders were "proficient" on the 2005 science test.

Nationwide, high school seniors scored about the same in 2005 as they did in 2000, but 12th graders also were the only group to see a drop in scores over a 10-year time frame, according to Booth.

"It's perplexing," Darvin Winick, chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board, told the Associated Press. "Almost everybody is on the high school reform bandwagon now, and all this report should do is fuel that fire a little more."

SOURCES:
Booth Newspapers, "Michigan science scores compare favorably with national average," May 24, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-34/1148499564182370.xml& storylist=newsmichigan

National Center for Education Statistics, "State Profiles," 2005
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/profile.asp

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Report: Michigan schools above average in test scores, below in teacher quality," Feb. 15, 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4078

Michigan Education Digest, "Michigan students average; black students lagging," Oct. 25, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7391

BRIGHTON TEACHERS PAY MORE FOR HIGH-COST MESSA
BRIGHTON, Mich. — Brighton teachers will pay higher deductibles to purchase a more expensive health insurance option offered through the Michigan Education Special Services Association, according to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.

The teachers will pay $520 retroactively for this school year, and $620 next year, the Press & Argus reported. That cost will increase to $720 in the third year, but teachers who opt for a less costly MESSA plan will only pay $360. MESSA is a third-party administrator associated with the Michigan Education Association. The district predicts it will save about $580,000 by teachers opting for the less expensive insurance. That money will be given back to teachers through a 2.25 percent raise each of the three contract years, the Press & Argus reported.

"From the field of possibilities that could have been done, this was the most doable compromise we could have," interim Superintendent John Hansen told the newspaper.

The agreement also would prevent the school district from taking disciplinary action against teachers who participated in what officials believe was an intentional sick-out May 5 that forced two schools to close, according to the Press & Argus.

"There are pills to swallow on both sides," Barry Goode, president of the Brighton Education Association, told the Press & Argus. "The perfect deal for either side doesn't exist because their interests aren't the same."

SOURCE:
Livingston Daily Press & Argus, "No savings with new contract," May 26, 2006
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006605260318

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Brighton 'sick-out' draws parent response," May 16, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7704

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "MESSA Reference Page," March 10, 2006
http://www.mackinac.org/7643

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education Report (http://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper with a circulation of nearly 150,000 published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org), a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.

Contact Managing Editor Ted O'Neil at
mailto:med@educationreport.org

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http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx.
Related Topics: Education
Michigan Education Daily
Wed., March 17, 2010
"Detroit Public Schools will end up with 100 fewer school buildings than it had in 2006 if a new closure plan is carried out." >>
Tue., March 16, 2010
"Most of the country's public schools would have more freedom under a proposed rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law." >>
Tue., March 16, 2010
"Reading scores improved in all grades, and math scores in most grades, while science and social studies scores dipped slightly on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests taken in fall of 2009." >>
Mon., March 15, 2010
"Some parents who attended a South Redford School District forum recently called on teachers to make wage or benefit concessions as a way to protect school programs." >>
Sun., March 14, 2010
"An ambitious proposal to overhaul Detroit Public Schools ran into opposition Thursday over the issue of dissolving the school board and allowing Mayor Dave Bing to take charge." >>
Sat., March 13, 2010
"At least 14 public school districts in the Muskegon area offer some type of alternative education, either on their own or through a consortium, but the programs are under both budget and academic pressure." >>
Fri., March 12, 2010
"Michigan voters may see a ballot initiative in August asking them to approve a sales tax on services, with the understanding that their approval would also mean education spending reform, the chairman of the House Education Committee said Wednesday." >>
User Comments
JackI
Is it true that young ones today are losing interest on these subjects? Obviously, the White House is promoting programs that will help students on coping up with math and science subjects. But, The federal government thinks that the quality of math and science education can repair credit with the scientific community and improve US education with a few <a rev="vote for" title="U.S. Government Spends $250 Million on Science and Math" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/Payday-Loans/ ">payday loans</a> of sorts. In reality, it will take far longer to accomplish than they might think – US educators can't even get students to accept that "irregardless" isn't a word, and the difference between their, they're, and there – our students can't even learn their own language! It's a noble aim, to be sure, but throwing money at it may not work in the long run. >>
beggarsall
I am a teacher in the same county who is presently trying to quit the union. Like Caldwell, I strongly disagree with the MEA.

This article was timely.

Rob Olson
Pittsford Area Schools

>>
rickolson
I agree this is a change worth making. I describe some of the uneven effects of the idea on my blog at http://rickolson.blogspot.com/2009/08/statewide-health-insurance-plan-for.html which you may also wish to read.

The devil will be in the details, so this is one we will need to monitor closely.

Rick Olson from Saline, former school Business Manager >>
MichelleO

Nowadays, saving money is very crucial and properly investing the money can keep you and your family away from the effect of the financial crisis. The sad news is that a lot of the options for short term funding have been drying up. Short term funding is a necessary thing to have around, and going through traditional channels such as banks isn't an option for a lot of people anymore – basically it's only open to Ken Lewis. Installment loans are an option, but some people, including senior citizens, have been thinking about raiding their retirement fund. Getting into your pension retirement plan or 401(k) funds is the last thing you want to do if you don't qualify for any withdrawals yet. The penalties are substantial, and you'll end up needing installments loans to pay them if you use retirement funds for <a rev="vote for" title="Installment Loans Reliable Option As 401(k)s are Dwindling" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/05/17/installment-loans-reliable-option-401ks-dwindling/">short term funding</a>.


>>
QUEEN_BEE_09
I AGREE >>
colonelb
Godfrey-Lee on the west side of the state has been running all-day, every-day kindergarten for several years. >>
BenjaminY
We have a problem in Detroit Public School, their system had cash flow problem for years now. And honestly it getting worst in terms in progression with more children leaving to charter their schools almost every year. The state decided to give the Detroit school districts cash advance of $70 million so they would meet the schools expenses, as well as payment for teachers. Robert Bobb, the newly appointed emergency financial manager, requested the funds early in order for him to get the house in order before he had to start panicking. President Obama has been giving out large sums of money for troubled school districts, perhaps that’s where a generous portion of the aid came from. Getting Detroit Public Schools in working order is a worthy cause.

LINK TO READ FOR MORE INFO:
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/03/10/state-advance-detroit-public-schools-70m/


>>
colonelb
I am all for school choice and think its great that charters are finally moving forward. However, I'm wondering if the research accounts for a playing field that is not level. I can't take my school buildings and move them anywhere I want, nor can I simply slap up a pole building and make it a school. If anything, public schools need less state regulation and oversight so we can play by the same minimal rules charters do. If you want public schools to compete to improve, remove the barriers to doing so. I will gladly except less funding per pupil if the playing field is level.
>>
karen
The purpose is to encourage non excercising children to excercise but my daughter's highschool gave her an improper body fat percentage and made my healthy daughter who trains 20 hours a week in tap jazz and ballet believe she was overweaghit instead of a person with muscles.
I believe the public schools do not have the right to make the diagnoses with these kids because they are using one measurement and recording it from their arms that they have a certain percetnage of body fat with one arm caliper test.
Does any one have feed back?
>>
deepakp9
Specifically, 81 percent of students in religiously affiliated schools and 82 percent of students in other private schools have parents who report being "very satisfied" with their schools, compared to 55 percent of students in assigned public schools and 63 percent of students in chosen public schools.

High levels of satisfaction among private school parents also extend to opinions about their children's teachers, academic standards of the school, order and discipline at the school, the amount of homework assigned, and interactions with school personnel.

http://fitt.in >>